The Opposite Mirrors

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Methodological Remarks

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 1-29

3. Game Theory and Mutual Beliefs

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 30-50

4. An Example: Money

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 51-59

5. The Concept of Authority

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 60-79

6. Authority and Coordination

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 80-104

7. The Foundations of Legal Systems

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 105-133

8. Conventionalism and Law

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 134-166

9. Efficacy and Obligation

   • Eerik Lagerspetz

   Pages 167-184

10. The Role of Force

    • Eerik Lagerspetz

    Pages 185-207

11. Conclusions

    • Eerik Lagerspetz

    Pages 208-213

12. Back Matter

    Pages 214-230

    PDF

How do social institutions exist? How do they direct our conduct? The Opposite Mirrors defends the thesis that the existence of institutions is a conventional matter. Ultimately they exist because we believe in their existence, and because they play a role in our practical reasoning. Human action necessarily has an unpredictable aspect; human institutions perform an important task by reducing uncertainty in our interactions. The author applies this thesis to the most important institutions: the law and the monetary system. In his analysis he connects many traditional topics of the philosophy of law, social philosophy and the philosophy of social sciences in a new way. He discusses the nature of rules, authority, and power and analyzes the Hobbesian presuppositions which have been dominant in legal theory and in the economic analyses of the state.
The book is written for legal theorists as well as for political and social philosophers, and theoretically oriented social scientists.

• Institution
• Nation
• Reichsrechnungslegungsverordnung
• game theory
• nature
• philosophy
• philosophy of law

• University of Jyväskylä, Finland

  Eerik Lagerspetz

• University of Turku, Finland

  Eerik Lagerspetz

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